1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component supply apparatus, which supplies prism-shaped electronic components stored within a storage chamber in a bulk state by arranging them in a prescribed direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-232596 discloses an apparatus, which supplies electronic components stored within a storage chamber by arranging them in a prescribed direction.
This apparatus is equipped with a storage box for storing a large number of chip components in a bulk state, a taking-in pipe vertically movably disposed in a bottom of the storage box, and a conveyance pipe disposed inside the taking-in pipe. When vertically moving the taking-in pipe by a lever mechanism, the chip components within the storage box are taken lengthwise into the taking-in pipe one by one, whereupon the chip components taken in the taking-in pipe are moved downward within the conveyance pipe by their own weight in a state of their being oriented in the same lengthwise direction.
The above-described apparatus is suited for supplying column-shaped components but is very unsuitable for supplying prism-shaped chip components.
Namely, in a case where supplying prism-shaped chip components, when these chip components are taken into the taking-in pipe and when the chip components are moved in the conveyance pipe by their own weight, it is necessary to make four side surfaces of the chip components other than both end surfaces in the lengthwise direction of it the same direction. However, said apparatus cannot make such a posture control, it is not possible to make the posture of the chip components taken in the taking-in pipe and the posture of the chip components moved in the conveyance pipe by its own weight the same direction.
With even said apparatus, if making the cross-sectional configuration of the inner holes of the taking-in pipe and conveyance pipe conform to the configuration of the end surface of the prism-shaped chip component, when the chip component is taken into the taking-in pipe and when the chip component is moved in the conveyance pipe by its own weight, controlling the posture of the chip component is possible if theoretically.
However, in said apparatus wherein the taking-in pipe is moved vertically on the outer side of the conveyance pipe, even if the cross-sectional configuration of the respective inner holes of the taking-in pipe and conveyance pipe has been conformed to the configuration of the end surface of the prism-shaped chip component, it is very difficult, in actuality, to cause the prism-shaped component to be taken into the taking-in pipe. As a result, there occurs the inconvenience that the supply of the chip components will be often interrupted due to a decrease in the taking-in probability.
Among others, in recent years, because of a demand to speed up the loading of the components onto a circuit board and the inserting of the components into accommodation recessed portions of a component wrapping tape respectively, there has been demanded the electronic component supply apparatus having a supplying performance capable of satisfying such a speed-up demand.